Senator Obama abroad

If you go to GOP.com, there's a banner which reads the days, hours, and minutes and seconds since Obama's last visit in 2006 to Iraq. It's negative campaigning but it does have a point according to this analysis and puts a focus on national security and diplomacy. But there's also a more cynical viewpoint about the candidates' travels abroad and this analyst says the trips are all about appealing to voters at home. He says both McCain and Obama want to bolster their foreign policy credentials with travels, but their trips to different destinations is also guided towards different constituencies at home. The question is, do these trips work and do they appeal to voters? After all, this campaign trick has never been tried before. Michael Dukakis suggests the candidates should focus more on domestic destinations and grassroots appeals. But if a candidate sticks to America, he's less likely to have an iconic moment like JFK speaking in Berlin in 1963. Ronald Reagan also spoke there. This analyst says if Obama were to speak at a place like that, it would be a gamble. The Obama campaign inquired about speaking at the gate, and it sparked a mini-controversy in Germany. The campaign trip is likely to stop at some historic monuments and sites. Only one thing about Obama's trip next week is certain: everything he does will be analyzed and dissected over and over.

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